“They make it my problem!” Lola yelled. “I can’t get away from them. How do they make me feel so bad…about everything? Everything in my life?”
She tried to squeeze her hand into the opening to get a shirt, but she obviously couldn’t reach. She grabbed the drawer on either side and pulled it hard.
“Damn it!” Lola mumbled. “Damn it, damn it, damn it!”
Each word increased in volume and brought a more fervent shake and pull. The entire front piece of the drawer came off in Lola’s hands, leaving the contents exposed. Lola dropped it in disgust, reached into the naked, half-extended shelf and yanked the first shirt from the stack. She sat on the end of her bed and looked at the hole she had just created. It was all too symbolic.
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ACT III
NEW YORK MOURNS SONNY
The New York Bulletin
Last night, television history was made when Detective Sonny Lavinski (played by Donald Purchase) was shot dead on the season premiere of police drama Crime and Punishment. Lavinski’s death came as a major surprise to millions of viewers who had tuned in for the start of Lavinski’s 16th season. What began as a fairly ordinary case involving the murder of an NYU student ended with a shooting at the foot of the courthouse steps, with Lavinski dying in the arms of his partner, Mike Benzo.
Reaction across the city, the country, and the Internet was immediate. News of Lavinski’s murder trumped coverage of real-life murders, instantly becoming one of the top news stories. The headline rippled across news tickers around Manhattan, causing crowds of people in Times Square to stop and point. The Crime and Punishment online fan site, which boasts more than two hundred thousand members, immediately crashed.
Sources from the set report that Lavinski’s departure was long in planning, and that much work had gone into keeping the story line under wraps.
“It was just time,” said one staff writer who asked to go unnamed. “Donald’s been great to work with. We were all crushed when he said he had to go. He didn’t want it dragged out. He said that would hurt the fans who were really attached to his character. He wanted it to be quick. So that’s how we wrote it.”
Lavinski’s killer, David Frieze, is played by cast newcomer Spencer Martin, 19.
“Yeah,” another on-set source confirmed, “that story line is going to be a big part of this season. David Frieze is the new baddie on the street.”
Over five hundred dedicated fans had an impromptu candlelight vigil on the steps of the New York Supreme Court, where the death scene was shot.
“I can’t stop crying,” said Felicia Wills of Brooklyn, as she placed a bouquet of flowers on the steps where Lavinski fell. “It’s never going to be the same without Sonny.”
Andrew Walsh of Manhattan said he was riding by on his bike when he saw the gathering and asked what happened.
“I was recording the show,” he said. “I was about to go home and watch it. I never thought they’d kill Sonny Lavinski. That’s like…killing television. I’m in shock. I’m honestly in shock.”
A larger, more organized event in Central Park is to follow on Saturday.
THE LOVE OF THE MASSES
The next morning, when Scarlett emerged from her room, she was struck by the sight of Spencer coming out of the bathroom wearing white pants and a white shirt. It was the whitest outfit she had ever seen, broken only by a sliver of dark silver tie.
“Is it Dress Like a Kentucky Colonel Day?” she asked. “I always forget to mark it on my calendar.”
Spencer straightened his tie.
“I kind of wanted to get dressed up today, but my only dress pants are my work ones and these. And my good suit, but I didn’t feel like wearing that. They’re nice, right? They’re really nice pants. I should wear them more often.”
“They’re nice,” Scarlett conceded, taking a good look at them as they walked down the hall. “But they do look a little…musical-ish.”
“That’s because they are musical-ish,” he said, pushing the elevator button, which stuck and clacked back out again. “They were part of my costume for The Music Man. I swiped them from the costume room when the show was over. I have the jacket, too, but it doesn’t fit right. The arms are too short. Here, read this.”
He pulled a copy of the New York Bulletin out of his messenger bag and passed it to Scarlett. It was already folded open to a page, and he tapped on an article.
“They’re already lying about it,” he said. “I am already spinning in the spin machine.”
“Why are they saying it was planned?” she asked, scanning the article. “I don’t get it. You said he walked off.”
“Because it sounds better than, ‘Bitter, greedy, slightly drunk guy leaves set with no warning after fifteen years.’ Did you see the part about ‘cast newcomer Spencer Martin’? That’s my favorite part. That’s the part where the article really shines. I’m the new baddie on the street!”